Andrew McGibbon - Self-released Singles

Self-released Singles

Shortly after ending his period in the Morrissey band, Andrew McGibbon released two records of his own.

The first was Princess by Blu Gene featuring Spider Johnson, a ragga single which used extracts from the Princess Diana Squidgygate tape as answering phrases in a love song. Annie Nightingale played it heavily but the record was otherwise outlawed by Radio 1, despite the creation of a toned-down radio edit.

This was followed by I Live in a Giant Mushroom, a novelty trance single by McGibbon disguised as LBC character Eric the Gardener. The record secured daytime play on Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 1, where the presenter predicted it would be a Christmas hit. In the event, it failed to chart. Issued on Mental Temple, McGibbon’s own label, it was mixed and produced by Danton Supple who would later produce Coldplay. A song on the Divine Comedy album Fin de Siecle was named in tribute to Eric.